Just wondering my car sits in the garage a fit bit , should I run a trickle charger on it ? If not how many times should I start it up a week and how far a drive should I take it on to keep the battery healthy ?
"a bit" is such a subjective term
In your owners manual, under battery disconnection section on page 258, it states the following:
The battery may discharge if the vehicle is not used for approximately six weeks.
If the battery is disconnected it may discharge after approximately 12 weeks. Trickle feed on a battery charger overnight, before installing back into the vehicle.
If the battery is disconnected or discharged, the boot (sedan) and the tailgate (wagon) will not open normally...
(followed by info on the consequence of disconnecting a battery)
There doesn't seem to be further advice within other sections of the Holden owners manual about vehicle storage or non use (that I've noticed)
So even with a six week driving hiatus, you shouldn't see any major battery issues... But ultimately everything wil get old and tired including the battery. Cranking would get harder and harder as time goes by so after may be 6 or 7 (some have had 9) years you could start having startring troubles even if the car is used every days... but that's normal and may simply mean it's time for a new battery
If you park a car long term, say more than six weeks, best to remove the battery and connect it to a quality trickle charger which will serve to avoid killing the battery through sulphation (caused by too low a battery voltage).
If your car is parked six months or more, i'd consider other measures as well. Placing the car on stands so the weight of the car is not on your tyres will avoid getting flat spot memory effect on your tyres. Without a doubt, keeping the car out of the sun will also slow the degradation of external plastics and interior materials. Some say to completely fill up the tank with 98, others say to empty the tank of fuel, don't know which is better...
Interestingly, BP has a
Fuel Storage Fact Sheet which states fuel shouldn't be stored more than 4 weeks
There are supposed ways to expend that time somewhat by not filling the tank up completely and topping up using fresh premiin teir 1 fuels. Whatever you do DONT ever use E10 or E85 if the car isn't being continually driven. Ethanol fuels will suck moisture from the air and suffer phase separation issues which will cause you grief if storing/parking the car for extended periods....
For very long term storage, i've heard some classic enthusiests completely fill engine block with oil, including above the pistons (via temporary removing spark plugs). They do similar overfills with gearboxes, etc where possible. Obviously such is lots of work up front and also means lots of work to prepare their car for putting back on the road so many simply don't bother.
For me, a trickle charger and a long drive (atleast 1/2 hour to boil any moisture from the oil) every few months seems to be enough. But at the end of the day, i expect the battery will die and they car will have problems.
Cars like to be driven though police never accepted that premise
